Legislative Priority

Mayday for Mandate Relief

"Mayday" is an international call for help, derived from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me". NYSAC's "Mayday for Mandate Relief" campaign calls on New York State to provide much-needed help to counties through mandate relief measures.

In both 2012 and 2013, counties across New York State declared “Maydayfor Mandate Relief,” sending out a strong call for action from Albany. Dozens of counties held events and passed resolutions to focus attention on the State-mandated programs that continue to consume property tax dollars and curtail critical local services that contribute to New York State’s great quality of life.

For decades, county officials and NYSAC have been telling state lawmakers that unfunded mandates are destroying our local governments and communities. For years, we’ve struggled to balance paying for state programs while providing local services. Recently, our voices have been heard by state lawmakers, and we’ve seen some relief from state mandates. The progress we’ve made is a testament to the power of our collective call for action. 

Now, we must keep the momentum going. State leaders need to know that while recent mandate relief measures have been helpful, we all have more work to do. The cost of state mandates continues to grow while the property tax cap keeps our funding level.

In recognition of Mayday for Mandate Relief, counties held town hall meetings, press conferences, and public hearings. County leaders wrote letters to their local paper, held meetings with state lawmakers, issued press releases, and educated their community on the impact of unfunded state mandates. These events are working. In May 2012 and May 2013, there were numerous newspaper and television stories about Mayday events, and this year’s State Budget included several mandate relief actions.

By continuing “Mayday for Mandate Relief” efforts, we are continuing to draw attention to the great need for relief, and increase public support of mandate relief measures. With counties across the state doing this, our united call for relief will be strong and clear.

Media Coverage - view links to Mayday media coverage.

Resolutions - view Mayday resolutions by county

Visit www.mandaterelief.com to send a letter to your state representatives using an easy 3-step form, and then encourage others to do the same!

Mayday Templates:

• Resolution - Download the Mayday for Mandate Relief resolution template (Word document)
• Press Release for Counties - Download the Mayday for Mandate Relief press release template (Word document)
  
  

Additional tools and downloads:

• Share this link - www.mandaterelief.com - to send a letter in support of mandate relief to state representatives using an easy 3-step form.
• Financial Challenges Facing Local Governments- Comptroller DiNapoli's January 2013 report
• Chart: 2013 Tax Cap Growth Limit vs. Cost Growth of 9 Mandates
• Working with Your Local Media (NYSAC webinar)
• Mayday image for use on county websites (or right click on image below to download)

Mayday 2012 - summary, events, and media